Devil's Due PR Stunt: 'Devil Baby' Terrifies New York City (VIDEO)

A robotic devil baby has caused scores of New Yorkers to flee in terror.

The publicity stunt for upcoming horror film Devil's Due, conceived by New York-based marketing firm Thinkmodo, featured a baby in a parentless pram, let loose on the streets.

When passers-by approached the stroller, drawn by the sound of a baby crying, the remote-controlled infant screamed, vomited and even flipped the V-sign, chasing people away.

The reactions were captured on camera and posted on YouTube in a clip which has since gone viral, with more than 20 million views.

"Our devil baby was covered and a hidden speaker inside the stroller would play looped audio of a crying baby. It was an interesting social experiment to see how many people would bother to check on an abandoned stroller," Thinkmodo co-founder Michael Krivicka told Yahoo Movies.

"Since the stroller was remote controlled as well, we decided to have some fun with it and have the stroller approach specific groups of people — some walking, some sitting around enjoying a hot coffee. Lots of fun reactions there," he added.

"One lady decided to cover up the baby with a blanket while another gentleman just stood there, processing the grotesque look of the baby," Krivicka said.

"People were totally cool with being in the video after getting the living hell scared out of them. Each reaction ended with a laugh, and everyone loved the look of the baby."

Devil's Due, directed by Eli Roth is out on 17 January and stars Allison Miller, Zach Gilford and Sam Anderson.